Today my foray into early 19th century cooking continues! I’m making a recipe for roasted potatoes I found in the 1823 cookbook The Cook’s Oracle by William Kitchiner. Roasted potatoes may sound like a dull choice, but I think this is the perfect recipe to showcase one of the fascinating differences between modern and historical cookbooks: the level of detail in the recipes. Read More
I wanted to continue this month’s Wizard of Earthsea menu with a fun little item we hear about during Ged’s revelry with his friends at a festival on the wizards’ island, Roke. The boys are playing around with various spells, and as Ged’s friend Vetch causes the leftover chicken bones from his dinner to turn into owls and fly around, Ged uses magic to fashion breadcrumb arrows that he sends after the birds. I loved the idea of bread arrows, so I created a recipe for Parmesan garlic basil breadsticks using premade pizza dough and added arrowheads with some extra dough.
They turned out delicious! Everyone in our family loved them, especially the baby. He wouldn’t let me walk by the tupperware container I had them in without grunting and reaching for a piece. I’d say that’s a pretty rave review! 😉
Considering Romeo and Juliet is based in Renaissance Italy, I wanted to include at least one menu item that the characters would have likely eaten in that time period. Though focaccia has seen a rise in popularity in recent years, the current form of the dish first became popular in Romeo and Juliet’s day. I love this particular recipe because the dough doesn’t need to rise, and it’s got great herbed flavor and fun texture. The star shape, of course, is a tip of the hat to Verona’s famous star-crossed lovers.
If I was marooned on a deserted island for three years, I’d crave cheese too! Ben Gunn flat-out waxes lyrical about it when telling Jim what he misses most about home. If I could dive into the book (a superpower for which I’ve often wished), I’d bake Ben a batch of these heart-meltingly homey cheese buns, developed by Laura at PheNOMenal!
Please forgive my Pi Day ADD from last week. I promise to never deviate from the pre-determined menu again…unless of course it’s for something super awesome. Like Halloween. Or the Fourth of July. Or Bring Your Potted Plant To Work Day…which I’m sure is a holiday somewhere.
I made a different version of these witch hat calzones for a Halloween party once, and they were a big hit! My favorite pesto recipe adds a little Technicolor flair, plus a fun flavor element, making these calzones the perfect entrée for this month’s menu. The recipe is remarkably kid-friendly, so if you have any little budding chefs in the household, I’d definitely enlist their help with this one!